Some bad news in the WTCC this morning as Arena Motorsport announces it will close and will not participate in the 2013 World Touring Car Championship. This is due to the team’s owners, Capiscum Motorsport Group, choosing to focus on its single-seater programme (Carlin), and help Max Chilton since he has now graduated to F1.

This potentially means Ford will not be represented on the grid, unless another team buys the cars, and leaves Tom Chilton without a drive.

That’s surprising given that the only just moved up to the WTCC and, with Chevrolet gone, they stood to do rather better this year. Though I wasn’t convinced the decision to move there from the BTCC was a sound one. And of course it’s another blow for the WTCC. Not good news all round.